maggie hassan

Democratic ad seeks to gain ground with voters in the New Hampshire Senate race by magnifying GOP turmoil on the campaign trail and its position on an Obama Supreme Court nominee. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

Democrats love to criticize Republican senators about Donald Trump’s candidacy and the Supreme Court vacancy. Now, they’re combining the two issues into one TV ad.

A Super PAC aligned with Senate Democrats is airing a new ad aimed at New Hampshire Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte, linking her refusal to consider a new Supreme Court justice with the front-runner of the GOP presidential primary.

Portman expressed his condolences, but didn't stake out a position on whether Obama should appoint a successor. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

The sudden death of Antonin Scalia and ensuing fight over the process to replace him on the Supreme Court has created a vexing election-year problem for Senate Republicans, who – a mere nine months before November – are now caught between the competing demands of their conservative allies and moderate voters who could make-or-break the party’s already imperiled majority.

In what might amount to their most high-profile decision of their campaigns, vulnerable Republican incumbents can side either with ideological allies who believe viscerally important issues like abortion-rights, immigration reform, and government overreach are at stake – or with moderates who are more broadly interested in lawmakers who lessen government dysfunction and help get things done.

Hassan joined GOP governors calling on the federal government to stop accepting refugees from Syria until vetting "is as strong as possible." (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

New Hampshire's Maggie Hassan has the distinction of being the only Democratic governor so far to call on the federal government to stop accepting Syrian refugees. At the same time, vulnerable Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin is one of the few Republicans who is not calling for a halt on Syrian immigrants.

Hassan, who's waging a competitive Senate contest against GOP Sen. Kelly Ayotte, echoed the sentiment aired by Republican governors Monday. “The Governor believes that the federal government should halt acceptance of refugees from Syria until intelligence and defense officials can assure that the process for vetting all refugees, including those from Syria, is as strong as possible to ensure the safety of the American people," spokesman William Hinkle said in a statement .

Hassan is Democrats' top pick to run for Senate in New Hampshire in 2016, but the governor is keeping her plans close to her chest. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

DOVER, N.H. — Gov. Maggie Hassan stands in front of a green screen. To her left, a stick-on motif on the wall prompts her to "Choose Your Adventure Here."

While Hassan is merely exploring one of the exhibits at the New Hampshire Children's Museum during a state Executive Council breakfast in Dover on Aug. 26, it is a timely coincidence as the clocks ticks down for her to decide which statewide office to seek next year.

While Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan waits on the sidelines, allies in Washington are not waiting to get involved in what is shaping up to be a hotly contested re-election contest for Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte.

On Wednesday, the Democrat-supporting Senate Majority PAC released a new television commercial that seeks to combat ads released last month by Americans for Prosperity. A source that tracks campaign ads said the group spent $250,000 on its buy. “Fifteen months before the election, yet the out-of-state, oil billionaire Koch brothers have already spent $1.2 million in New Hampshire to keep Kelly Ayotte in the U.S. Senate,” says the ad, taking aim of her support for tax breaks for oil companies. "With the Koch Brothers and Kelly Ayotte busy helping each other, who’s helping New Hampshire families get ahead?"